Alec Baldwin’s Trump Is Returning To ‘SNL’ – But Is That A Good Thing?

Whether or not President Trump likes it, Alec Baldwin’s bringing his impersonation back to Saturday Night Live this fall. Baldwin, who has remained cagey about his continued involvement with the sketch show since the season finale in May, told CNN that he’ll don the wig and orange makeup at least a few more times when SNL returns for Season 43 this fall.

“Yea, we’re going to fit that in,” Baldwin told CNN. “I think people have enjoyed it.” Baldwin’s going to have to fit those few trips to 30 Rock where SNL is taped into his busy schedule; the actor said that due to his schedule, he’ll probably only be able to squeeze in a few appearances as opposed to his more frequent pop-ins during Season 42. Baldwin said his role as Trump in the next season will be akin to “a couple celery sticks” rather than a “whole meal.”

One has to wonder if Baldwin’s continued presence on Saturday Night Live is becoming a hindrance, though. While Baldwin has hosted the show 17 times, more than anyone else, he’s still not a regular cast member. This has never happened before; presidents, arguably the most prominent public figures on Earth, have always been portrayed by a regular cast member, meaning they’re available for every episode. Baldwin only appeared in 14 of last season’s 21 episodes, and SNL had to make do without a campaign or president focused sketch for a third of last year’s episodes.

With Baldwin coming back in an even more diminished capacity in Season 43, SNL is going to have to figure something out for the week’s they don’t have Baldwin. If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last year, it’s that there is exactly zero chance that a week will go by without Donald Trump doing something completely ridiculous, something worthy of being lampooned by SNL. The sketch show got around Baldwin’s infrequent appearances last year by turning a lot of attention towards a political character played by an actual cast member: Kate McKinnon’s Kellyanne Conway.

And Baldwin’s Trump wasn’t the only outsourcing SNL did over the last election cycle. The show farmed out Sean Spicer to Melissa McCarthy and Bernie Sanders to Larry David. Both of those impressions garnered plenty of praise and attention, and deservedly so. But they also made it feel like the actual SNL cast members were supporting players on their own show. Why not give those coveted roles to the comedians that are there every week? Will they continue to farm out some of the lesser members of the Trump administration to cast members so they’ll be able to knock out some commentary during Baldwin’s off weeks? While Baldwin’s return as Trump will definitely inspire headlines and plenty of tweets, it might not be good for SNL–a show built on its talented cast, not guest stars–in the long run.